Submission 1427

Submission to the Australian Government Regarding Reduction in NDIS Funding

I write as a family carer for my son, who relies on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to live safely, participate in the community, and maintain dignity, routine, and stability. I strongly oppose any reduction in NDIS funding that would limit access to the supports he depends on every day. For families like mine, NDIS funding is not an optional extra or a convenience. It is the difference between a life that is supported, connected, and meaningful, and one that is marked by isolation, stress, and preventable decline. It helps hold our daily lives together and protects both my son’s wellbeing and the sustainability of our family as his carers.

The points below reflect not only policy concerns, but the everyday reality of how NDIS funding supports my son’s safety, independence, inclusion, and future.

Benefits of NDIS Funding

• NDIS funding has been profoundly beneficial for my son because it gives him meaningful access to the community in ways that would otherwise be very difficult to sustain. Through his funded supports, he is able to attend one-to-one gym sessions as well as group X-Fit sessions, which support not only his physical health but also his routine, confidence, and sense of participation in the world around him. These activities are only possible because he requires a support worker to drive him to and from the sessions and assist him to participate safely and consistently. Without this funding, he would lose important opportunities to stay active, build connections, and remain engaged in a life that brings him purpose and enjoyment.

• When group activities are available, my son will gladly attend them, although unfortunately these opportunities are not frequent. Even so, the supports he receives through the NDIS allow him to participate in the community in meaningful and positive ways. My son loves his life, enjoys being part of his community, and values taking part in activities where he feels accepted by the people around him. That sense of belonging and inclusion is deeply important to his wellbeing, his confidence, and his quality of life. It is something that has been built through support, consistency, and opportunity, and it should be protected rather than placed at risk through reduced funding.

Challenges with Group-Based Activities

We have also tried group-based activities through larger organisations, but these have not always been the right fit for redacted’s support needs. In some cases, the activities provided have not matched what was expected, and larger group settings have not always offered the level of structure or supervision he requires to participate safely and meaningfully.redacted benefits most from supports that are individualised, responsive, and centred on who he is as a person. When the right support is in place, he is able to engage with confidence, make better decisions, and experience genuine inclusion in the community.

Support Within the Home

NDIS-funded support workers also assist my son, redacted, in the home with important daily living tasks that build his independence and help him maintain a safe, healthy, and structured routine. They support him to cook his weekly meals using HelloFresh, which helps him develop practical skills in planning, preparing, and completing meals. This support is necessary because he does not have the concentration skills to cook safely on his own and requires supervision and guidance to complete the task safely. Support workers also use this time with redacted to practise reading by working through recipes with him and to build maths skills through simple tasks such as working out how

Submission 1427

many potatoes or other ingredients are needed. They also assist him to clean his part of the house, including his kitchen, bedroom, TV room, bathroom, and toilet. He becomes easily distracted when cleaning, so support workers are important in helping him stay on task and complete these responsibilities properly. Just as importantly, having support workers come to the house gives valuable time to interact with someone other than his parents. This social interaction is an important part of his routine and helps him build communication, confidence, and relationships beyond the family home. This support is so much more than help with chores. It builds independence, dignity, responsibility, social development, and everyday literacy and numeracy skills, while also ensuring that he can live in a clean and functional environment. Without it, these everyday tasks would become much harder to manage safely and consistently, and an important part of his growth and connection would be lost.

        also desperately wants to work, whether in paid employment or as a volunteer. Sadly, in

the 12 years since he left school, neither of these opportunities has eventuated. This has been deeply disappointing because work is not only about income. It is also about purpose, routine, confidence, contribution, and being seen as a valued part of the community. More support in this area would make a real difference, including practical assistance to help people with disability prepare for work, connect with suitable opportunities, and receive the right support to sustain participation. Incentives for businesses to employ people with disability would also help to create pathways that are too often closed off.

If ’s NDIS funding were reduced, the impact on his daily life would be immediate and significant. He would be at risk of losing the individualised supports that help him safely access the community, maintain routines, build skills, and manage everyday tasks at home. Without support workers to assist with transport, cooking, cleaning, and structured activities, he would become more isolated, less independent, and far more limited in his ability to participate in the life he currently enjoys. It would also place enormous pressure on our family to try to fill those gaps, despite the reality that unpaid carers cannot replace formal supports in a sustainable or safe way. A reduction in funding would not simply mean fewer services on paper; it would mean a real loss of independence, opportunity, connection, and quality of life for my son.

Why Reducing NDIS Funding Would Cause Harm

Any reduction in NDIS funding would have immediate and serious consequences for participants and their families. Supports funded through the Scheme cover the ordinary but essential parts of life: daily activities, therapies, equipment, transport, respite, and assistance that enable a person with disability to participate in education, employment, and community life. When these supports are reduced, the need does not disappear. It is simply pushed onto unpaid family members, many of whom are already providing substantial care every day and night. The result is not efficiency; it is increased strain, reduced safety, and a greater risk of crisis for families already doing everything they can.

As a carer, I know that unpaid care has limits. Families cannot absorb endless increases in caring responsibilities without impacts on health, employment, income, relationships, and mental wellbeing. When formal supports are reduced, carers are forced to fill the gap, often at personal and financial cost. This may mean reducing paid work, postponing medical care for ourselves, or giving up opportunities to rest and recover. Over time, this undermines not only the wellbeing of carers, but also the stability and safety of the person receiving support.

Submission 1427

Reducing funding is also a false economy. If participants cannot access early, regular, and appropriate supports, their needs often escalate. This can lead to hospital admissions, mental health crises, family breakdown, housing instability, and greater pressure on health, education, and social services. A sustainable NDIS should not be achieved by withdrawing essential supports from people with disability and expecting families to carry the risk without adequate assistance.

Concerns About Current Reform Directions

The Australian Government has stated that NDIS reforms should improve the Scheme for participants, families, and carers, while also ensuring long-term sustainability. It has also emphasised the importance of consultation and careful sequencing of reform. However, families remain concerned that cost containment measures, funding periods, and changes to planning processes may reduce flexibility and create additional stress if they are introduced before broader foundational supports are fully in place.

Recent sector feedback has highlighted concerns about the flexibility of funding periods, the importance of urgent change-of-circumstances processes, and the risk of transitioning participants to new planning approaches before necessary supports outside the Scheme are available. Carer advocacy groups have also argued that family and friend carers must be explicitly included in support needs assessments, planning, and review processes, because carers provide essential information about daily support needs, risk, and sustainability of informal care.

Recommendations

1. Do not reduce NDIS funding for participants with essential and ongoing support needs.
2. Ensure any reform to planning, budgeting, or funding release arrangements protects
   participant safety, continuity of supports, and genuine choice and control.
3. Recognise family and unpaid carers as key partners in planning and review processes, while
   respecting the wishes and rights of the participant.
4. Do not shift costs from the NDIS onto unpaid carers, hospitals, schools, or other already
   stretched systems.
5.  Establish and fund foundational and community-based disability supports before making
  changes that narrow access to individualised NDIS supports.
6. Improve communication with participants and carers by providing clear, accessible, timely
   information about proposed changes and review rights.
7. Increase practical supports for employment and volunteering pathways for people with

disability, and encourage businesses to create more inclusive opportunities through appropriate incentives and support. 8. Measure the impact of any reforms not only in budget terms, but also in participant outcomes, carer wellbeing, and long-term social and economic costs.

Conclusion

I urge the Australian Government to reject any approach to NDIS sustainability that comes at the expense of the practical supports people with disability and their families rely on every day. A fair and sustainable Scheme must protect participants’ rights, recognise the enormous contribution and clear

Submission 1427

limits of unpaid carers, and ensure that reforms are implemented with care, transparency, and genuine co-design. For my son, this funding supports far more than services. It supports his independence, his safety, his inclusion, and the life he loves. Reducing that support may lower expenditure on paper in the short term, but it would come at a far greater human and financial cost in the long term.

Parent and carer of redacted, QLD 28 May 2026